Since the establishment of republican government in 1889, Brazil has been in theory a secular state. Until then, initially as a colony of Portugal and later as a monarchy, the country was basically a Catholic domain. The first public event upon the arrival of the Portuguese was a Catholic Mass on Easter Sunday, and the first name the Portuguese gave to Brazil was Ilha de Vera Cruz (Island of the True Cross), mistakenly thinking they had arrived on an island. Later they changed it to Terra de Santa Cruz, or Land of the Holy Cross. The prominence of brazilwood trees on the land led to the final and definitive name change to Brazil. Religion was thus at the front and centre in Brazil from the country's very inception. Even today, Brazil remains a strongly religious country, with almost 90% of its population still identifying as Christian. But the religious configuration of the country has drastically changed, particularly in the past century. In this essay, I present an overview of how that scenario has changed, to give the reader a clear picture of the current religious landscape in Brazil, paying particular attention to the prominent but changing nature of contemporary Brazilian Christianity, while pointing to some challenges and promises in the journey ahead.

The Formation of Catholic Hegemony

The expansionism of the Iberian nations to the New World took place at the turn of the sixteenth century under the banner of the Roman Catholic Church. Among other things, the conquest and colonisation of Latin America was a missionary event. In the case of Brazil, although initially the Portuguese were concerned primarily with exploiting the riches of the newly ‘discovered’ lands, ultimately they turned their attention to the evangelisation of the natives. In the course of the three centuries of colonisation, the Church extended its reach to touch every aspect of life in the colony.

Brazil, from its inception, was a multi-ethnic nation. When the Portuguese arrived in Brazil, an estimated 11 million Indigenous people, representing over 2,000 different tribes, lived on those lands. Despite the decimation they have experienced since, they have resiliently resisted oppression, reinventing themselves in ways that enable coexistence with their oppressors.